Treachery At Kalla
by AllyKat D
Summary: As a Padawan struggled with her inherent darkside, she must trust in the Force and uncover a deadly plot that could plunge two worlds into war.
1. Dark Concerns

# Treachery At Kalla

By AllyKat

**Chapter One. Dark Concerns**

(Five years before The Phantom Menace)  


Kahana Mato-An shifted behind her Twi'lek mistress, Sa'awni Chaska, and tried to calm her anxiety. The two of them stood in the circle of the Jedi Council, and although Kahana had been Sa'awni's Padawan for seven years, appearances before the council always made her uncomfortable. At least for now the council focused their attention on Sa'awni.  


"A conflict I sense in you," Yoda said to the Twi'lek Jedi and his green eyes narrowed. "Like you not this assignment Sa'awni Chaska?"

_Can anyone blame her?_ Kahana thought. _Who wants to get stuck in the middle of a nasty argument between a planet full of angry Twi'leks and the Corporate Sector? _Kahana was ready for another assignment where she could see plenty of action, but the Corporate Sector heads were too sneaky, they'd rather hire assassins to do their dirty work. Kahana felt Mace Windu's gaze glide to her and she snapped back to attention. It was not a Padawan's place to worry over an assignment. Only when she quieted her mind did Master Windu turn his attention away from her and she heaved an inward sigh of relief. The man possessed a stare like twin blaster bolts.  


Sa'awni's blue lekku twitched slightly. "Master Yoda, I have neither been in contact with my people nor set foot on my home planet since infancy. They will resent Jedi involement in this, most of all from me. They do not view me as one of their own."  


"Decided the council is that help moderate the ryll spice regulation talks you can," Yoda returned.  


"If the negotiations break down between the Twi'leks and the Corporate Sector, the entire mid-rim could be consumed in an interplanetary war," Mace Windu interjected. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers in front of his face. "And the Trianii, backing the Twi'leks stance on this issue, will grasp any reason to resume fighting the Corporate Sector." 

"I understand Master Windu," Sa'awni said, her voice smooth and unruffled, though Kahana knew otherwise. She leaned toward Sa'awni, sensing slight ripples in the Force connection she shared with her master. Sa'awni was not pleased with this assignment.  


"You will leave tomorrow at dawn for the CSA controlled planet, Kalla, where the negotiations are taking place," Master Windu said.  
  


Kahana and her mistress bowed, retreated two steps before Yoda's voice halted them.  
  


"Request you stay, Mistress Chaska. Wait outside you will, Kahana," Yoda said.  
  


Kahana hesitated, glanced toward her master, then bowed again and left the room. The door slid behind her, effectively cutting her off from the conversation inside. With nothing else to do but wait, Kahana tried to calm her impatience, but it won out and she paced from one end of the waiting room to the other, pausing at each end to look out the window and across the towering buildings and air traffic lanes of Galactic City.  
  


She had better things to do than to sit and wait while the council exchanged pleasantries. Probably nothing important. _Just another way to test Mistress Sa'awni's errant Padawan,_ Kahana thought and frowned, drumming her fingernails on the plastisteel glass. Often she felt that she would never be able to please the Jedi council.  
  


"Hurry up and wait," she grumbled to herself and began pacing the room again and growing more impatient with each step.  
  


* * * *  
  


"A progress report on Kahana we will hear," Yoda requested. The Jedi master sat back, laced his fingers and exchanged a glance with Mace Windu that did not slip past Sa'awni's notice.  
  


The Twi'lek Jedi took a breath. "Her abilities with the unifying Force are growing."  
  


"Curious I am of her life Force abilities," Yoda said.  
  


"They have remained... unchanged," Sa'awni admitted, though she didn't like doing so. Yoda frowned at this news and Sa'awni went on. "She is a fierce warrior. Undaunted and skilled far beyond the usual abilities of her age."  
  


"Concerned I am still of those abilities," Yoda said. "Too young she is to deal with all they entail."  
  


"Gyndine tested her skills," Sa'awni said, referring to the civil war she and Kahana had found themselves embroiled in during their last assignment. The mission to Gyndine was to have been a peaceful treaty signing mission but negotiations collapsed before they arrived. Their transport had been destroyed and their captain injured. "If it hadn't been for Kahana, I would be dead."  
  


Yoda regarded her for several uncomfortable moments, then grunted. "Good for Kahana this mission to Kalla will be. Teach her to negotiate first and use force second."  
  


_And she will find it all boring and not pay attention,_ Sa'awni thought before she stopped herself.  
  


"Boring it may be for the young Padawan, Mistress Chaska, but she must learn," Mace Windu broke in. "She must first think of peace and not attack."  
  


"In Gyndine, her swift reaction saved lives. Hesitation would have killed us all." Sa'awni was quick to come to her Padawan's defense. "My gift for words could not have helped us."  
  


"Kahana is still too quick to take aggressive action, and in other situations she may needlessly take lives," Master Windu replied, his penetrating gaze on the Jedi Mistress. "Her Force power is unbalanced."  
  


"And bring it into balance you must," Yoda interjected, "before it is too late."  
  


"Too late?" Sa'awni stepped forward, unable to control a flash of anger. "Too late for what? Kahana is a talented apprentice, and she is certainly the most talented that I have trained."  
  


"Her talent is not in question," Mace Window stated, level and hard. "It is her ability to handle it judiciously that is."  
  


"Is my ability to train her also in question?" Sa'awni had to ask.  
  


"No! No," Yoda continued on a quieter tone. "Strong are you in the life Force, Sa'awni; a nurturing and patient Jedi you are. For Kahana, essential are these traits to learn. Go now, Sa'awni. Important this mission will be for you both. May the Force be with you," Yoda said.  
  


"Yes, Master Yoda," Sa'awni said, inclining her head and exiting the room, yet feeling that the matter had not been resolved to her satisfaction.  
  


Sa'awni had never defied the Jedi code, not even close. All her colleagues considered her a stellar example of a Jedi, but now she had to wonder if she would challenge all that she held sacred to protect her Padawan.  
  


End of Chapter One  
  


_Author's note: This story has been sitting on my hard disk for about a year, I had to take it off several sites because a fanzine was going to publish it when it was complete. Well, it's complete now but I'd rather see it archived where it might find the most readership. It follows "Dark Inklings" which might be considered a prologue. It will eventually be archived and illustrated by the very talented Corynn when I get it going on my own web site._


	2. Assignments

# Treachery At Kalla

By Allykat

**Chapter Two**: Assignments 

Kahana ceased pascing when the door to the chamber slid open and Sa'awni walked out, her blue features calm and schooled and her emotions locked down. Kahana joined her and sighed loudly. That earned her a stern look.  
  


"You must learn to calm your anxieties, Padawan," the Jedi Mistress said in a level tone as the two Jedi entered the lift tube. It started smoothly down to the sleeping quarters on the lower levels. Chastised, Kahana studied the tip of her boots for a moment.  
  


"I am sorry, Mistress, and I will be more aware," Kahana finally said and looked up. "Master Yoda is wise, but why is he sending us on this mission? You are estranged from your people and you said they will resent your presence. The negotiations could be jeopardized."  
  


"Master Yoda often sees a larger picture that remains hidden to most of us--even the most powerful--and I cannot help but feel that we will surve a purpose more important than the spice dispute. I have learned to trust his judgement and in time so shall you." A slight smile tugged the lips of the Jedi and she laid a hand on Kahana's shoulders. "Try not to fidget next time we're in the council room, hmm?"  
  


"Yes mistress," Kahana dutifully intoned and knew by the Twi'lek's raised brow expression that she was not convinced.  
  


On a lower level of the temple the lift tube stopped. They stepped out into a busy corridor populated mostly by those employed to manage and maintain the immense Jedi temple. Kahana sensed a sudden uncomfortable ripple in the Force. She stumbled, then halted. Sibilant voices whispered to her, the meaning of their message just beyond her kin, trembling at the edge of madness. Ghostly cold tendrils touched her mind, wrapping around her thoughts seeking to steal them. Chills traveled up and down her back and for the first time in her young life, she felt the foreign nip of fear at the fringes of her consciousness.  
  


"What? What did you say?" she whispered, looked around at the empty hall then toward her mistress's retreating back. Had not her mistress felt it? Had she heard it? It seemed she had not.  
  


"Is there something wrong?" Sa'awni asked, stopped and waited for Kahana to catch up.  
  


Kahana frowned and shook her head. She couldn't explain what she just heard and felt, not unless she wanted to sound like a fool. She realized then that the feeling wasn't entirely foreign. She felt it whenever she was in Galactic City, but not as strong as she had now. It was something evil lurking in swirling blackness of the dark side of the Force. Almost as if it were... waiting. But for what? _Or whom_, Kahana thought.  
  


"No, it was nothing," Kahana lied. Sa'awni wasn't fooled but Kahana was relieved when her mistress didn't seemed inclined to persue the matter. The Twi'lek nodded once then continued down the hall.  
  


Calming herself with a few rudimentary Jedi techniques she had learned from Sa'awni, Kahana ran a hand through her spiky, black hair and followed behind her mistress. In the human Padawan style, Kahana's hair was cut short except for a single long braid falling over her right shoulder. At seventeen years of age she was tall for a human female, slender and agile. She wore the usual sandy-colored tunic, pants and knee high brown boots. The lightsaber she had made hung at her waist from a utility belt. Like all apprentices, she had been raised from an infant at the Jedi temple.  
  


Sa'awni was the closest thing to a parent that she had, except for perhaps Master Yoda and Master Windu; their faces peering down at her were her earliest memories. In fact, Master Yoda had named her and in his language Kahana Mato-an meant Bright Fire. Throughout her training he had kept a close watch over her. Yoda said the Force burned bright and strong in her, and that one day she would become a powerful Jedi.   
  


Right now Kahana didn't feel very powerful. Confusion over many things would describe her current state of mind. She shoved the strange voices away and tried to focus on exactly what she and Sa'awni were to accomplish on Kalla. She knew of the heated debate in the Senate over the Corporate Sector Authority's occupation of Ryloth, the native planet of the Twi'leks. The center of the problem was the smuggling of the addictive ryll spice to CSA controlled planets. Since the CSA couldn't prevent the consumption of the spice, they sought instead to regulate it by slapping large import taxes and penalties on both the shippers and the Twi'lek.  
  


The Twi'leks claimed they had no control over the spice once it left their ports. The Trianii, a race subjugated by the CSA, sided with the Twi'leks. Oddly, it was the CSA president who had asked for a Jedi mediator. At least, Kahana thought it odd. The Corporate Sector operated on the edge of the law and usually went out of their way to avoid contact with any type of law enforcement organization.  
  


Kahana almost bumped into her mistress as they arrived at their quarters. 

"Kahana?" the Twi'lek Jedi queried.

"I was thinking about Kalla," Kahana admitted. At least this time it wasn't a lie.

Sa'awni nodded, then pressed her hand to a sensor pad mounted on the wall and the door slid open. Their sleeping unit was a simple suite of two bedrooms and a common area furnished with chairs around a table. Luxurious compared to some of the places they had slept in recent months, Kahana observed as she walked in.  
  


Someone had already delivered her meager belongings that she kept in a worn knapsack. A Jedi had no use for possessions. Still, she collected various trinkets and knickknacks from each planet she visited. She didn't know why she collected them; it was a foolish habit. The Padawan carried her bag to the smaller of the two rooms, tossed it on the floor, shrugged off her cloak and immediately headed back out.  
  


"Where are you off to?" Sa'awni asked.   
  


"Exercise room," Kahana answered as she crossed the room. "That flip I did onto the ship's boarding ramp during our escape from Gyndine gave me a hitch in my shoulder. I was going to see if I could work it out."  
  


The Twi'lek nodded. "See that you don't stay out too late. We have an early morning flight to Kalla."  
  


"Yes, mistress," Kahana replied before slipping out the door. Outside in the hall she let a smile of anticipation tug at her lips. Everyone would likely be at dinner so she should have the exercise room to herself.  
  


* * * *  
  


In the cavernous exercise room, Obi-Wan Kenobi squared off with fellow Padawan Jaym Eddin. With practice lightsabers they parried, lunged and somersaulted while they tried to find a way through the other's defenses. Obi-Wan forward rolled, then duck to the side with an upward stroke of his lightsaber and tagged Jaym in the chest.  
  


"Point," Obi-Wan said with a grin.  
  


Jaym shook his head. "I should have blocked that," he said. "Again?" he asked and Obi-Wan nodded.  
  


At the edge of the room, near the door, Qui-Gon Jinn spoke with Master Ki-Adi-Mundi about the rising hostilities between the Ryloth Twi'leks and the Corporate Sector over ryll spice smuggling. Earlier, Obi-Wan had been listening, but preferred to practice with his friend.  
  


Obi-Wan allowed Jaym to force him back, and let Jaym believe he had the upperhand. Ducking a slashing strike, Obi-Wan faked a hasty, frightened retreat to pull Jaym after him, he then executed a backflip that took him behind Jayn, spun and slashed; his lightsaber singed his friend's arm. Jaym leapt back, surprised and rubbed the sore spot on his arm.  
  


"I have to admit you had me there," Jaym said, chagrined and rubbed a light burn spot on his forearm.  
  


"You were getting cocky," Obi-Wan said and chuckled. "Qui-Gon did the same thing to me once and I didn't get just a singe on the arm." He chuckled at Jaym's sheepish expression. :"If you don't straightened up, I'm going to go practice with him." Obi-Wan nodded toward another apprentice at the far end of the practice room.  
  


"Him?" Jaym laughed and deactivated his lightsaber. "Look again." He chuckled. "That him is a her. That's Kahana Mato-An."  
  


"Kahana?" Obi-Wan repeated, watching the slender girl flow through a series of complex fighting forms that included high kicks and combination parries and hand strikes. It was her almost adrogynous appearance that had first thrown him off. "I vaguely remember her."  
  


"She's younger, so she wasn't with our group. Later, I heard she was kept away because it had something to do with how she was found. She trained mostly with Master Yoda's and sometimes Master Windu worked with her, but that's it."  
  


"That's odd," Obi-Wan said. "I remember now, but didn't think anything of it at the time."  
  


"She's Mistress Sa'awni's Padawan now and I heard they're hoping that some of that Jedi's patience will rub off on her." Jaym straightened sharply and cocked his head. "I believe I'm being summoned. My master mentioned that we'd probably be reassigned tonight." 

Obi-Wan made a motion to start over toward Kahana but Jaym stopped him with his hand on his arm. "I wouldn't bother," he said, correctly interpreting Obi-Wan's desire to cross lightsabers with her. "She isn't friendly and one of her glares will freeze you faster than a Hoth icestorm." Jaym clapped his friend on the back and hurried out of the room.  
  


Obi-Wan went to stand next to his master and Ki-Adi-Mundi, though he didn't pay attention to their conversation. Kahana had good agility and technique. He noted there were a few minor points she could improve upon, and wished he had the nerve to go over and ask if he could work with her. He'd never been the shy, but he could not work up the courage to go over to her.  
  


"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon shouted in his ear and startled, he jumped.  
  


"Uh, yes, master," he said, embarrassed. He noticed that Ki-Adi-Mundi had left.  
  


"If you had been mindful of the conversation, you would know about our next assignment," Qui-Gon said, a mild reprimand in the tone of his voice.  
  


"Uh, no master. I mean, yes master!" Obi-Wan flushed at the hard stare Qui-Gon leveled first at him then at Kahana. "I could not help but watch her master, she is quite good," Obi-Wan continued."  
  


"Kahana Mato-An," his master replied quietly, almost to himself, a pensive expression in his eyes. "We will be accompanying Sa'awni Chaska and Kahana to a Corporate Sector planet Kalla."  
  


Stuck on a cruiser with the Hoth Princess, Obi-Wan thought to himself, but despite Jaym's warning, it didn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe he could get to know her during the long trip. Qui-Gon caught the gist of his unshielded thoughts and the Padawan inwardly cringed.  
  


"Obi-Wan, it is not our place to pass judgement on other Jedi or Padawans," Qui-Gon said. "Like you Kahana has her own strengths to foster and weaknesses to conquer. Remember that and try not to listen to gossip."  
  


"Yes, master." Reprimanded, Obi-Wan nodded. As they left the room, he took one more look over his shoulder.  
  


And this time he caught her staring at him.  
  


Across the room their gazes met, then held for a long moment. She took a step toward him. He sensed bewilderment and curiosity in her attitude and none of the iciness that Jaym had mentioned.   
  


The moment broke when the door closed between the two of them, and Obi-Wan took a deep breath. This assignment was going to be interesting at the very least.


	3. Machinations

# Treachery at Kalla

By AllyKat

Chapter Three: Machinations  
  


Darnas Kolatat made his way through Galactic City's level number 50. The sun never reached this far under the city. Glow-globes illuminated the dirty streets and shifty denizens who preyed on the weak and unwary. Kolatat's robes and hood hid his furred face and distinctive Bothan body. There were a variety of beings that inhabited the seedy lower levels of Coruscant, but still a Bothan would be noticed, and many here made their living selling information. Darnas lead the type of life where recognition might mean death from a rival, or incarceration by the authorities. He held no desire to be recognized on Coruscant, or on a great number of other star systems, including his own home planet Bothawui.   
  


The Bothan felt some relief that there was no law enforcement presence this far under the city. It was thought that anyone who traveled to the lower levels did so at their own risk. It had been many years since Darnas had been on Coruscant, but he did remember the danger. Strapped to his right arm was a MM9 wrist rocket, and he concealed a palm shooter in his left hand. He had a small blaster in holster strapped to his ankle and another blaster in a holster around his waist--all this hidden by the robes. However, it was his more his aura of boldness that kept the skulking marauders away. He walked like a being unafraid, prepared for a fight.  


His destination lay just ahead; a tavern called the One-Eyed Hutt. The building flanked other equally disreputable establishments, a pleasure house and a drug den . A buzzing glow sign above the tavern flashed a red and green outline of a huge green, slug-like Hutt with an eyepatch.  


The tavern was filled with the usual mix of low-level denizens--a mixture of creatures and aliens from dozens of star systems. Kolatat bypassed the main bar and made his way to the back of the room to the mouth of a hallway lined with doorways leading to private facilities. Just like thousands of other taverns across the galaxy, what went on behind these closed doors was rarely legal.  


A bouncer droid stepped into Kolatat's path; its mechanical hand hovered near its blaster. "These rooms are private," it intoned. "Do you have a passcode?"  


"Obtego ectum," he said in his rough voice. He knew not what it meant, only that it was the key for entry.  


"You are expected," the droid said but didn't step aside, "however, you must relinquish your weapons before proceeding." The droid ran a weapon detector over the Bothan's body. "Two blasters, wrist rocket and a palm shooter detected." A steel bin slid open from a durasteel clad wall. "No one proceeds armed."  


Darnas hesitated. Normally he would have walked away, however there was the tempting matter of the very generous payment offered by this mysterious employer. He dropped his weapons into the bin and it closed seamlessly back into the wall.  


"Room eight," the droid said and stepped aside.  


Darnas found the room halfway down the hall, pressed his hand to the pad sensor mounted on the wall and the door slid silently opened. He had utilized his own extensive spy net, but he was unable to discover the identity of this nameless employer. Darnas had to admit he was curious.  


The room was small, holding only a table and four chairs. Darnas stepped inside and the door closed behind him. Expressionless, he regarded the well-dressed human male who sat at the table, his face in shadow. A red-colored drink, the rim of the glass lined with various exotic fruit, sat before the man. It was untouched though there was a pool of condensation on the table. The man had been waiting for some time.  


"Right on time," his prospective employer said, speaking precisely, his voice revealing him as an educated man, telling a lot about him. Educated and rich judging by the clothing revealed by the dim light and the fee Darnas was promised. "I'm impressed."  


"I avoid Coruscant so you're lucky that I'm here," Kolatat said. "Tell me why you've sought me out."  


"I have a job for you Darnas Kolatat," the man said simply. Face still in shadow, he extended his arm and held up a small holo projection unit and activated it. Over the unit appeared an image of the CSA president Yeurii Oomin. "This is your target."  


The assassin's hood moved as he nodded. No wonder the human was prepared to pay handsomely for this hit. "Planetary security around Kalla is tight, and patrols are difficult to bribe. No doubt Oomin will have his own personal Trandoshan guards around him," Kolatat said. "This is not a job I can do alone. I will have to hire extra men. Good mercenaries do not come cheap and they will cost you extra."  


The man hesitated, but Kolatat knew the human would relent despite the exorbitant hit fee. Without false conceit, the Bothan knew he was one of the few assassins with the expertise and connections to pull off this task.   


"Very well," the human conceded as Kolatat had expected. "An extra twenty thousand Republic credits will be transferred to your account on completion of the job. And you must kill him before any agreements with the Twi'lek are signed."  


"You speak of the ryll spice regulation debates. The smugglers have much to lose if the spice is regulated."   


"Perhaps," the man said. "Many organizations rely on illegal spice trade to fill their coffers."  


Kolatat could read between the lines. Knowledge, as any Bothan knew, was power. So his employer was a spice smuggler. Darnas mentally cataloged this bit of information that might help him discover his employer's identity.   


"Consider the job done." Kolatat bowed with the barest of smiles curving his lips, eyes gleaming. After this hit, he could comfortably retire on an outer rim planet. Perhaps even marry and set up a normal household.  


"There is one other matter," the man said. "One of my associates is a member of Oomin's court. They will contact you once you land on Kalla."  


"Why do I need this associate?" Kolatat stared suspiciously into the human's shadowed face. He did not like working with unknowns. "And how will they know where to find me?" When the human replied, Kolatat could detect a smile in the tone of his voice.  


"Oh, they will find you, don't doubt that. And you will need their assistance to get into the palace and to handle a new development in the regulation debate." The man laced his hands on the table. "Chancellor Valorum has asked the Jedi High Council to dispatch two Jedi."  


"Jedi!" Darnas spat. Jedi always complicated matters. "I can work around them, I just have to be more cautious."  


"My assistant can handle the Jedi," the human said. "You worry about Oomin."   
  


* * * *  
  


Satisfied with the outcome of the meeting with Kolatat, Corporate Sector Senator Nemo Palak sat back in his seat and sipped his fruity alcoholic drink. He laced his hands over his lap and smiled, but that smile faded at the chime of an incoming holo-message. He reached in a pocket and drew out a palm sized holocomm unit and pressed a finger on the receive stud. He frowned at the image of his ryll spice pilot.  


"I told you not to call me here," he ground out, his voice low.  


The Sullustan pilot's round dark eyes bulged nervously. "You must pardon me, master," he said in accented basic, "but we narrowly escaped boarding by Corporate Sector patrols. We are currently in the Tion Hegemony," the Sullustan said, referring to a group of planets, a haven for smugglers and thieves near the corporate sector. "I dare not come out of hiding."  


Palak's hands clenched. "Stay where you are until I contact you. Soon this ridiculous dispute will be over." He disconnected, his good mood evaporated.

End of Chapter Three  



End file.
